Blindsided by a Diaper
Ocean Rae … a delicious, juicy strawberry of a child, a Tasmanian devil, a tumble of kisses and hugs, my own tiny hurricane. I worship her, dream about her, can’t remember who I was before she arrived. It has been nearly eighteen months since our daughter was born and to say nothing has ever been the same is to wildly understate the matter. She has enriched my life, my writing, expanded my heart, deepened my capacity for patience, tenderness, fear, panic, love. I am a better person as her mother, a better writer (though not necessarily a better cook or gym member) … and very, very tired most of the time.
I had O just five months before the publication of BEAUTIFUL LIES (Shaye Areheart Books). So, naturally, I took my infant daughter, my husband Jeffrey (and occasionally my mother) on a ten-city book tour. And then I did it again a year later for SLIVER OF TRUTH. (The TRUTH is I barely survived this but in retrospect it was pretty great, crazy, maddening, wonderful – like all intense experiences that don’t involve medical treatment or memorial services.) My daughter has been breastfed in over 100 Barnes & Noble parking lots across the country, in the back rooms of fabulous independent stores such as Mysteries To Die For in Los Angeles and Stacey's in San Francisco, in my editor’s office at Random House, and at a bratwurst stand at the Frankfurt Book Fair. She has been on thirty flights, has her own passport, and thinks groups of people regularly gather at bookstores to see her. Ah, the writer’s life.
I had hoped to blog about some of these experiences while I was on the road -- but any mom out there knows how naive I was to imagine a spare five minutes to accomplish this. Then last year I was asked to contribute to an anthology called BLINDSIDED BY A DIAPER: Over 30 Men and Women Reveal How Parenthood Changes a Relationship, (Three Rivers Press; Coming June 19, 2007) edited by the wonderful and talented Dana Bradford Hilmer. I am thrilled and honored be included in what has turned out to be just a beautiful, poignant, funny, moving collection of essays by wonderful writers including Susan Cheever, Leah Stewart, Nicholas Weinstock and so many more. I loved sharing a slice of my experience in the fray of trying to be a mother, a wife and a writer. My essay, entitled Enemy at the Baby Gate, focusing mainly on my relationship with my husband, was a joy and a pleasure to write.
Click HERE for more information on BLINDSIDED BY A DIAPER … whether you’re a writer, reader, or parent, you won’t want to miss it. You can pre-order now or find it at your local or online bookseller on June 19th!